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Garmin Oregon 600

I was all set to buy a Garmin Oregon 600 until I checked the reviews on Amazon which were VERY mixed. That's a huge red flag for me.

There were numerous different things complained about, most saying it was a great idea but has too many bugs. I won't list the complaints here except the two most common, which were battery life and the device locking up.

On the other hand, I have seen some great reviews. I am planning to use it mainly to stay on public land and to get the contact information for landowners.

Anyone using this or similar (650, 600t)? I'd like to get your opinion before I drop nearly $400. If not, does anyone have another GPS they really like?

The Oregon is one of the best units available. No GPS with a large color screen will have great battery life. You can use lithium or nickle batteries to help out. One feature of the Oregon (and most new Garmins) that can drain the battery is connecting to both GPS and GLONASS all the time, you should connect to both only when needed.

Talk about good timing. I was planning to buy the same model this week. I wish I had bought the 450t while it was on sale at Cabelas. Those older 450, 500 and 550 models didn't seem to have such bad reviews as the 600.

It seems the professional reviewers are blown away by the capabilities of the unit but I like to check the user experiences as well, especially when something is fairly new.

I rarely buy software the first year it's out (especially with Microsoft!!), and I may try to limp along this year with my phone and give Garmin time to work the bugs out. Or, since the issues sound like they are software-related, I may go ahead and buy it now and download the updates as they come out.

I have had an Oregon 600 for over a year and I love it!!! I also have the Colorado Land owner chip. I don't have anything bad to say about it....oh yes, I get pretty good battery life too. In constant use they last a week or more.

Colorado Cowboy
Cowboy Action Shooter; Endowment Life Member-NRA
The Original Rocket Scientist-Retired
"My Father always considered a walk in the mountains as the equivalent of church going."
Aldous Huxley

I have the 62st and couldn't be happier. The battery life so far as been great, it has a feature for saving battery and so far the 2 AA I have in the GPS now have been in all day for about 3 or 4 different trips and it is still shows full power. I see that Garmin has come out with the 64 series GPS, might want to look into those.

Interesting.
What do you do to get the longer battery life? Some Amazon reviews mentioned battery life as low as 13 hours so it sounds like maybe there is a difference in settings.

I guess my definition of constant use is different that other s. I'll turn it on and get my location and starting point, then turn it off. Turn it back on when I want to mark something, and off again and so on. I don't usually turn it on and leave it on all day.

Colorado Cowboy
Cowboy Action Shooter; Endowment Life Member-NRA
The Original Rocket Scientist-Retired
"My Father always considered a walk in the mountains as the equivalent of church going."
Aldous Huxley